Since
early 2002, the National Disaster Education Coalition has
worked
on reviewing and updating its "Talking About Disaster:
Guide for
Standard Messages." The review process included extensive
participation
by more than 450 professionals, scientists, and researchers
who
contributed to the material. Representatives from NDEC participating
agencies have spent numerous hours to refine and resolve content
issues
and questions, to ensure accuracy, consistency, and appropriateness
of
messages.

This
Guide is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded
and
republished without written permission. Acknowledgement to
the National
Disaster Education Coalition, Washington, DC, is requested
(see
"Introduction
and Purpose" for specifics).

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We just recently added a new section to our guide about pressure cookers. With pressure cookers being in the news recently for the wrong reasons, we felt it was necessary to address their safety and overall public perception. We interviewed Elizabeth from Pressure Cooker Pros to complete to the section. Please leave feedback on the new section and let us know your thoughts about pressure cooker safety.

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Chemical
Emergencies (Updated
7/16/04)Chemicals are a natural and important part of our environment.
We use chemicals every day. They are found in our kitchens,
medicine cabinets, basements, garages, and gardens. Chemicals
help us keep our food fresh and our bodies clean. They help
plants grow and fuel our cars. And chemicals help us to live
longer, healthier lives.Learn
more.

Disaster
Supplies Kit(Updated
8/13/04)A Disaster Supplies
Kit is a collection of basic items that members of a household
would probably need in the event of a disaster. The items are
stored in a portable container(s) near, or as close as possible
to, the exit door. Every household should assemble a Disaster
Supplies Kit and keep it up to date. The number of people in
a household and their ages and abilities will determine how
many containers will be required to carry the kit items. Learn
more.

Drought(Updated
7/16/04)Droughts have wide-ranging
adverse economic, environmental, and social impacts as rivers,
reservoirs, groundwater levels, and soil moisture all drop.
Lack of rain for an extended period can cause losses to crops,
timber, livestock, and fisheries. Water shortages for home use
and industry may result, affecting personal and environmental
sanitation. Environmental losses from water shortages may occur
due to an increase in the number of fires and the amount of
dust and concentrated water pollution. Learn
more.

Earthquakes(Updated
7/16/04)Earthquakes strike
suddenly, without warning. Earthquakes can occur at any time
of the year and at any time of the day or night. On a yearly
basis, 70 to 75 damaging earthquakes occur throughout the world.
Estimates of losses from a future earthquake in the United States
approach $200 billion. Learn
more.

Evacuation,
Sheltering, and Post-Disaster Safety(Updated
7/16/04)At any time of
the year, at any time of the day or night, a disaster or threat
of a disaster could force people to leave their homes, offices,
and schools or even the community in which they live. People
evacuate a dangerous place to go to a safer place, and they
usually need to act in a hurry. The safer place that they
may go to is a shelter. The shelter may be inside their
own home, in case of a chemical or other emergency outside,
or a public shelter set up by the American Red Cross or other
organization that provides a safe place to stay if evacuation
has been advised. Also, after a disaster, people can reduce
the chances of injury and death by knowing how to handle water
of questionable purity, portable generators, and more. Learn
More.

Family
Disaster Plan(Updated
8/02/04)Disaster can strike
quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your
neighborhood or confine you to your home. What would you do
if basic services, such as water, gas, electricity, or telephones,
were cut off? Local officials and relief workers will be on
the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right
away.Learn
more.

Fires,
Residential (Updated
7/7/04)Fire was the sixth leading cause of unintentional death
due to injury in the United States in 2002. Fires and burns
also rank as the third leading cause of unintentional home injury
for children under the age of 15. Learn
more.

Fires,
Wildland(Updated
7/16/04)More
and more people are making their homes in woodland settings
in or near forests, rural areas, or remote mountain sites. There,
residents enjoy the beauty of the environment but face the very
real danger of wildland fire. Wildland fires often begin unnoticed.
They spread quickly, igniting brush, trees, and homes. Learn
more.

Floods
& Flash Floods(Updated
7/16/04)Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters
in terms of human hardship and economic loss. As much as 90
percent of the damage related to all natural disasters (excluding
drought) is caused by floods and associated debris flows. From
1992 to 2001, floods cost the nation, on average, more than
$4.1 billion annually. Between 1972 and 2001, on average, 127
people a year were killed by floods—mostly by flash floods.
Learn
more.

Hazardous
Materials Incidents(Updated
7/16/04)From industrial
chemicals and toxic waste to household detergents and air fresheners,
hazardous materials are part of our everyday lives. Affecting
urban, suburban, and rural areas, hazardous materials incidents
can range from a chemical spill on a highway to the contamination
of groundwater by naturally occurring methane gas.Learn
more.

Heat
(Heat Wave)(Updated
7/16/04)In recent years, excessive heat has
caused more deaths than all other weather events, including
floods. The American Meteorological Society reports that on
average heat kills more than 1,000 people each year. During
the July 1995 heat wave in Chicago, more than 700 people died
as a result of excessive heat.Learn
more.

Hurricanes
and Tropical Storms(Updated
7/16/04)There are no other storms like hurricanes on
earth. Each year, on average, 10 tropical storms (of which six
become hurricanes) develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean
Sea, or Gulf of Mexico. Many of these storms remain over the
ocean. However, on average, five hurricanes strike the United
States coastline every three years. Of these five, two are major
hurricanes, category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane
Scale. Major hurricanes have sustained winds above 110 miles
(177 kilometers) per hour. Learn
more.

Landslides
(Updated
7/16/04)Landslides are a serious geologic hazard that occurs
in almost all 50 states. Every year in the United States, they
cause significant damages and 25 to 50 deaths. Globally, landslides
cause billions of dollars in damages and thousands of deaths
and injuries each year.Learn
more.

Nuclear
Power Plant Incidents(Updated
8/13/04)Nuclear power plants operate in most states
in the country and produce about 20 percent of the nation’s
power. Nearly three million Americans live within 10 miles (16
kilometers) of an operating nuclear power plant.Learn more.

Terrorism
(Updated
8/09/04)In addition to the natural and technological hazards
described elsewhere in this guide, people face threats of terrorism
posed by extremist groups, individuals, and hostile governments
.Terrorists can be domestic or foreign, and their threats to
people, communities, and the nation range from isolated acts
of terrorism to acts of wa r..Learn
more.

Thunderstorms,
Severe (Updated
7/16/04)Despite their small size, all thunderstorms are dangerous.
Every thunderstorm produces lightning, which kills more people
each year than tornadoes and hurricanes. Heavy rain from thunderstorms
can lead to flash flooding. Strong winds, hail, and tornadoes
are also dangers associated with some thunderstorms. High winds
from thunderstorms can cause damage to homes, overturn vehicles,
and blow down trees and utility poles, causing widespread power
outages.Learn
more.

Tornadoes(Updated
7/16/04)Tornadoes have been reported in every state. They generally
occur during spring and summer, although they can happen in
every season. Tornadoes can strike at any time of the day or
night but are most likely between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. No
areas are immune to tornadoes; they have been reported in mountains
and valleys, over deserts and swamps, from the Gulf Coast into
Canada, in Hawaii, and even in Alaska. Regardless of the location
or time of year, if conditions are right, a tornado can develop.
More than 1,000 tornadoes are reported annually nationwide,
and as our tornado detection systems improve, fewer tornadoes
go undetected. Even so, tornadoes sometimes develop in areas
in which no tornado watch or warning has been issued.Learn
more.

Tsunamis(Updated
7/16/04)All tsunamis are potentially, if rarely, dangerous.
Twenty-four tsunamis have caused damage in the United States
and its territories in the past 200 years. Since 1946, six tsunamis
have killed more than 350 people and caused significant property
damage in Hawaii, Alaska, and along the West Coast. Tsunamis
have also occurred in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. When
a tsunami comes ashore, it can cause great loss of life and
property damage. Tsunamis can travel upstream in coastal estuaries
and rivers, with damaging waves extending farther inland than
the immediate coast. A tsunami can occur during any season of
the year and at any time, day or night.Learn
more.

Volcanoes
(Updated
7/27/04)Volcanoes produce
a wide variety of hazards that can kill people and destroy property.
Volcanic eruptions fall into two broad types: (1) explosive
and (2) quiet. Hazards from large explosive eruptions include
widespread ashfall (fine glass particles), pyroclastic flows
(mixtures of hot gases and pumice blocks), and massive lahars
(volcanic mud or debris flows) that can endanger people and
property nearby as well as tens to hundreds of miles away. Eruptions
can even affect global climate. Hazards from quiet lava flows
include igniting fires and producing chlorine-rich gas clouds
where lava pours into the sea. Since 1980, as many as five volcanoes
have erupted each year in the United States. Eruptions are most
likely to occur in Hawaii and Alaska. In the Cascade Mountain
Range in Washington, Oregon, and northern California, volcanoes
erupt on the average of one to two or more each century.Learn
more.

Winter
Storm
(Updated 7/16/04)Each year, exposure
to cold, vehicle accidents caused by wintry roads, and fires
caused by the improper use of heaters injure and kill hundreds
of people in the United States. Add these to other winter
weather hazards and you have a significant threat to the health
and safety of Americans.Learn
more.